Separation
by Reginald Kastle
Summary: A collection of Sharkbait High School/College AU oneshots because they seem to appear more frequently than I desire. Ranging from sfw - nsfw.
1. Costumes

Ryouga hates costume parties. Yuma may be older, but he still thinks he's young enough to still want them for a birthday, and it's not like it's really something he can just say no to; Yuma knows he's not that great when it comes to socializing with other people because _have you seen people his age_? But Yuma's so nice about even when he's much too tactless and tells him that he doesn't have to come if he doesn't want and he doesn't have to wear a costume if he doesn't want but he'd _really _love it if he would come, and how can Ryouga say no?

So he tries his best to convince Rio that he needs a costume for some reason that he doesn't want to say, and it takes much more time than he wants but eventually he's made his way into an outfit that resembles some sort of… king? Rio giggles at the outfit as she holds him at arm's length and he frowns at her.

"Don't you think this is a bit…? I don't know, tactless?" he questions, tugging on the edge of the makeshift skirt he'd been placed in.

"Excellent, it suits you then." Rio grins, and he wants to bite back but he won't because it's a war he can't win, so he just pouts unhappily.

"Where did you even get all this gear anyway?"

Rio shrugs. "Just found pieces in costume stores. Finding a costume is not as hard as you seem to make it, you must know that right?"

He sneers at her but it's the best he can do and as he eyes his reflection in Yuma's front mirror, it's not that bad, it's actually pretty good - almost good enough that he takes a step back in shock as he's reminded of that awful day. He can find humour in it now, as can Rio it seems, but it's still a somewhat touchy subject for him for anyone that is entirely aware of the situation._Especially Yuma._

He's got no other choice though, and a small part of him is glad that Rio's decided to come herself, though he can't say he approves of the costume she's chosen. Rio, sensing his displeasure, sticks her tongue out and pulls the corset up and drags the skirt further down her hips.

"Happy now?" she mutters as the door is opened in front of them but Ryouga ignores it because _oh my god what is Yuma wearing_. He's decked out in what looks like a cowboy outfit from western shows, complete with cape and a cowboy hat. Ryouga brings a hand to his mouth, coughing to hide his laughter as Yuma does the same.

"Hi Rio, Ryouga!" Akari calls from around the corner, pushing her thick rimmed, fake glasses further up her nose. "Come on in! You make an adorable Sayaka, Rio."

"Thank you, Akari." She grins, walking inside and leaving the two standing in the hallway alone.

"Nice costume." Yuma snickers through his hand, scratching his nose as Ryouga pulls at his skirt again.

Leaning against the door frame, he scowls. "I wouldn't talk. Who made your costume for you? Don't think you're a little old for cowboys?"

"I made my costume." Yuma murmurs, pouting to himself as he played with the lasso in his hands. "I was supposed to be Gagaga Cowboy, but Akari wouldn't let me have guns." He pouts further, causing Ryouga to chuckle quietly.

"It's not like we can really blame her." He laughs, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. Yuma mimics Ryouga in the most mocking way he can manage, before giving a small smirk as a plan formed in his head.

Ryouga frowns because he's lost again and it's not something he likes because Yuma's capable of anything and sure they've been dating for a while but it's not long enough for him to guess everything he's going to do; that's something people he's known his whole life are still unable to do. So only a part of him is surprised when the lasso slinks its way around his shoulders and chest, constricting his arms and pinning him to the spot.

He turns to face Yuma, raising an eyebrow at him in confusion. "What are you doing?"

Yuma smirks and it's a sight that makes Ryouga want to laugh but he can't in the situation he's placed himself in, but he starts to panic as Yuma pulls his scarf from his chin, dropping it to his neck as he came within breathing distance of Ryouga's face.

He stares straight into Ryouga's eyes and whispers "Can't you see Ryouga? I'm Shark Wranglin'!" and Ryouga scowls because he's even managed to get the Western accent down pact perfectly and it's so embarrassing because he's dead serious but it's his birthday, so he decides to play along.

Ryouga stutters, unable to say anything in sheer shock of everything, and Yuma cups at his chin, thumbing his lower lip with a smile. "So…" Yuma continues with a grin, wiggling his eyebrows in a pathetic attempt at seduction. "Do you want to overlay now, or later?"


	2. Secrets

Ryouga's got a bad habit of landing himself into situations where he'd rather not be in, and tonight is no exception. Except he knows he can't really complain as for once he's not in some sort life threatening situation as opposed to what Yuma normally places him in, but it's still uncomfortable that Yuma's leaning over him excitedly in only his boxers and _its purely innocent_ Ryouga whispers to himself to try and stop his face from tinting a vicious red.

There's no point though because after a few minutes of Yuma whining and hitting him with a pillow, he gives in with a roll of his eyes and lets his boyfriend crawl into his lap to get him to shut up. Only he doesn't and now Yuma is kissing his collarbone and murmuring something as he pushes his tight tank top to the side. Ryouga instinctively shudders, causing Yuma to frown and go uncharacteristically quiet.

"What's wrong with you?" Ryouga questions after a few minutes of silence. He knows that it's probably a bad to ask seeing as it will probably involve a lot of unnecessary talking and the silence isn't actually that bad, but Yuma's making a small pouty face and he knows he's accidently done something to hurt his feelings and _goddammit_.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Yuma murmurs quietly to himself, burying his face further into Ryouga's chest.

Ryouga huffs because really, does he have to do this today of all days? "look Yuma if you want to pretend that you're not upset of whatever do as you please, but don't sit there begging for sympathy then just tell me to not worry about it when I'd honestly rather not."

Yuma sighs because he knows he was doing it but he just doesn't want to bother Ryouga because he knows how annoyed he gets by it but he _can't _just hide it all the time. "I don't know how to explain it I guess, it's a secret I've held for a while."

Yuma feels Ryouga's sigh through his chest before he hears the noise, and he looks up and Ryouga's looking into the distance at something purely to avoid his gaze and then words slip from his mouth and Yuma stares at him in disbelief.

"Can you repeat that?" he asks because he's still not entirely sure whether he heard correctly or not and it's not something he feels he can just misinterpret.

"You heard me." Ryouga mutters, crossing his arms around him. "I cried like a baby through Titanic."

Yuma almost laughs and he can feel it building inside of him but he's sure it'll just make Ryouga angry with him, but as much as he a tries a small giggle escapes through his mouth and Ryouga just rolls his eyes because really, what did he expect? "Yeah well Rio forced me to watch it about a year ago and yeah, it wasn't so bad." He shrugs, releasing his hold and using them to prop himself up against the beanbag he was sitting on. "It's not really the issue here I guess. What I mean is like even Rio doesn't know that. I made some excuse and left the room so I could cry."

"This is really cute and all Shark, but I don't understand?" Yuma prods, because it is nice seeing this side of Ryouga, when he's not all grumpy and he smiles and actually opens up, and it is a nice distraction but he's not exactly sure how it fits into the current situation.

Ryouga huffs in annoyance, giving in and letting his back collide with the beanbag. "Well, you said that this thing that's bugging you is a secret, right? Well I thought if you wanted to tell me that secret, because the look in your eyes and you're just pouting at me whenever you talk its screaming 'ask me what's wrong!' so I thought if I shared a dumb secret I've had hidden inside for a while, I dunno, I thought it might make you feel less scared to share yours."

Yuma's frown morphed almost immediately into one of his infamous grins as he moved faster than Ryouga anticipated into his arms, giving him no warning as he threw himself at him and kissed his cheeks and neck until Ryouga pushed him away in mock annoyance, rolling his eyes.

"Yuma, do you really need to be so"

"I'm leaving Heartland City."

"What?"

Ryouga's sure he heard Yuma wrong because what? Yuma's still in high school and he said specifically that if Ryouga finished school without simply dropping out – not that he really was planning on it anyway – he would do the same. But he should have known better now that he thinks about it; what use would Yuma really have in completing high school? He knew ever since the numbers war that Yuma was going to follow in his father's shoes and become an adventurer, so what was the point of him remaining in school?

Yuma fiddled with the sleeve of Ryouga's tank. "Well, yeah. I know I promised that I'd finish school but I was approached the other day by Heartland Museum and they offered me a once in a lifetime chance to go explore the ruins we visited back when we were hunting the numbers. Mihael was interested so he's going to come with me as well." The excitement was undeniable in his voice even as he tried to downplay it, but Ryouga wondered why he would even bother.

"That sounds really cool." Ryouga replies, and he's genuinely impressed and interested because he's right, it really is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so why does he sound so upset?

"Yeah well, we'll be gone at least a year and I know you're not going to be in Heartland for college anyway so I thought it wouldn't really matter though?"

"when are you leaving?" he questions stiffly, because sure he's leaving himself, but he'd like to know because he thought he'd have a reason to come back to the City if he was there, but seeing as he's now going as well and Rio was going her own separate ways, there was no purpose left for him there, and a part of him felt a little… disheartened at that.

"A couple of days before you do." He admits with a sigh, trying to snuggle closer into Ryouga's body to make sure he wasn't mad at him. "You're not mad at me, are you? You're being quieter than normal."

Ryouga shook his head half in response and half to clear his own mind. "No, I'm not mad. This is really good, how could I be mad? It's not like I didn't expect it sooner or later anyway." He receives a puzzled look from Yuma, only to use a shrug as a reply. "I mean, you'd have to be an idiot not to. You were so excited visiting those places the first time, just even travelling. You could tell that you were going to do the whole exploring thing. And besides, at the rate that you fall asleep in class, I'm surprised that they haven't simply kicked you out by now."

"You're one to talk." Yuma interjects with a frown. "At least I actually turned up to class. How the hell did you still manage honours?"

Ryouga laughs quietly to himself, giving in and wrapping his arms lazily around Yuma's waist. "Well, I actually know how to study. And follow through with said studying."

"Well it's not like we're all great musicians that can just magically turn music into studying." Yuma grumbles, and though it's true that it's a good habit that Ryouga's actually pretty good at stringing sentences together when he can actually be bothered, he did offer the same to Yuma and well, it doesn't matter anymore, does it?

"It's not my fault I have a talent." Ryouga rolls his eyes. "Anyway, you wandered off topic. This is irrelevant. I mean, yeah I guess it'll suck not seeing you around but I wasn't really going to anyway so it would be better if you're doing something you want to." He looks at any direction that isn't Yuma, and settles with the roof.

Yuma makes a small whine, absentmindedly tracing a pattern on Ryouga's chest as he tried to grab his boyfriend's attention. "I'll miss you. A lot." He murmurs quietly as if Ryouga's not listening even though he knows he is.

"I know you will." He chuckles. "Who wouldn't?"

Yuma rolls his eyes, pouting as he punched him softly in the chest. "Are you going to miss me?"

Ryouga continues to stare at the ceiling, avoiding his gaze, a small smirk plastered across his face. "Yeah, I guess so. It's going to be quiet around here, not that I'm sure I'm going to mind." Ryouga gestured for Yuma to get off him as he pulled himself to his feet. "Knowing you, you won't give me a chance to miss you anyway. Come on, I want to play some video games before Rio gets home."

"Can we play Slender, please?!" Yuma jumped to his feet in excitement at the prospect of more games. "I promise I won't scream this time!"

Ryouga chuckled, messing at Yuma's hair and pushed him back to the beanbag. "We'll see." He turned away, allowing only a small frown to himself at the prospect that fuck, _everything is totally different now _only to erase it completely before Yuma could see because it's not important now, and Yuma's taught him that he really needs to relax more often. They'll deal with it when they get to it, and he had bigger problems – trying to control Yuma's screams as Ryouga landed in another situation he was not keen to be in.


	3. Clubbing

**Spoilers for 108/9 I guess. I seem to be writing a lot into the college au because I'm apparently using it to fill a void known as my own pathetic excuse for a love life. Whatever. Losers going clubbing. Post exp. **

It's been four years. At least, that's what it feels like for Ryouga Kamishiro, and he couldn't be more excited to go home. Only thing is, he _can't_ because not only is his eighteen year old boyfriend the one who dragged him to the stupid nightclub in the first place, he's so happy and excited that there's no chance he'll want to leave.

Ryouga shifts uncomfortably against the wall he's leaning against when he realizes that he wasn't listening to Yuma and he's going to pay for it – Yuma's loud "Sharkkkkk!" whine is his confirmation of such and it's only a few seconds before Yuma grabs hold of Ryouga's hands and pulls him to the dance floor.

"Come on, Shaaku." Yuma pouts as he pulls at Ryouga's arms in a pathetic attempt at dancing. "I get to see you once a month, and haven't seen you properly in over a year! The least you could do is dance with me."

"Dancing is stupid." He replies and he's always known that was the case, ever since he was a kid and lost to Rio in Dance Dance Revolution, he's always hated dancing. He gives an unnecessarily dramatic huff and tries to move his hips and arms in the same manner as Yuma but just can't pull it off and it's not long at all before he looks as dumb as he feels. He's certainly not drunk enough for this, but Yuma's happy grin in reply to his efforts is enough for him to simply suck it up.

Yuma smiles as he takes Ryouga's hands in his and tries to stop his boyfriend from embarrassing himself any further but he can't help but admire him; he knows he's probably having a terrible time but he's still there and for some reason still trying to pretend he isn't completely bored, which is more than Yuma could have expected from the male. Yuma wonders how much he can try and get out of Ryouga in one night, and he chuckles to himself as he thinks of his greedy, far from innocent thoughts.

"Look, I've danced, can we go home now?" Ryouga comments dryly, only for Yuma to tighten his grip on his hands and continue moving for him.

"You've only had one drink the whole night though!" Yuma insists, fishing into his wallet and picking out a twenty dollar bill. "Go get us some drinks and I'll meet you back at the tables, okay?" Yuma calls the words over the music and then he's gone, leaving Ryouga alone with half an intent to just leave there and then.

He walks to the bar and orders the drinks before flashing his ID and paying. He leans excessively against the bar edge, giving a small blink of surprise as he hears his name called out over the loud noise. He turned to see his roommate and a few others he remembers meeting but can't remember any of their names. "Fancy seeing you in a social setting!" Ryouga laughs bitterly at the comment by his roommate, doing his best to hide a snide comment that could come off much ruder than he intends.

"Yeah well, Yuma's in town and you know what he's like; he's the stubbornest person alive when he wants to be, so here we are." Ryouga murmurs just loud enough for them to hear.

His roommate seems glad for reasons that Ryouga can't possibly fathom, but it's when the girl under his roommate's arm exclaims "Yuma? As in World Duel Carnival champion Yuma Tsukumo? You didn't tell me you knew him!" followed by a "didn't he grow up attractive?! What a lucky girl that gets him!" That Ryouga realizes that he's gripping at the end of the bar so tightly that his knuckles have begun to turn white.

He's handed the drinks from the bartender with a warm smile and the "sorry!" whispers from his roommate are just getting on his nerves when a hand caresses the small of his back and he automatically thinks _speak of the devil_ as Yuma grabs his drink from Ryouga's hand.

"Do you want to take any longer, Shaaku?" Yuma questions before taking a drink. "Oh, hey!" Yuma's quite friendly with Ryouga's roommate, but it's to be expected; Yuma's friendly with anyone and everyone that he comes across in life. Ryouga doesn't have to wait long before the two are invited to drink with the group and they make their way to a table, Ryouga inwardly groaning at his partner's amazing social skills the whole time.

Ryouga's still astonished at Yuma's charisma despite how long he's known him. Drunk or not, Yuma's just a really big people person and Ryouga sees it as an opportunity to escape the crowd for a minute and takes it. "I'm just going to get a breath of fresh air." He proclaims suddenly, pushing his almost full drink to Yuma. "Look after this."

"Sure thing, Shaaku." Yuma replied, giving a reassuring smile before turning back to the small crowd he'd accidently brought around with the stories of his adventures.

Ryouga wanders for a while until he finds a relatively quiet section – well, as quiet as he can manage in this disastrous place. He thinks he's finally achieved as peaceful as it's going to get when a loud vibration echoes through his pants until he pulls out his phone.

_Where are you? Thought it would be a bit rude to just leave there both at the same time, didn't think you'd come back._

Ryouga goes to reply but the beeping resonates again.

_Not saying you're rude or anything, but you know, right?_

He gives a chuckle as he texts his location because why would he care, really? He's never been known for his sense of tact and he's sure his roommate is used to it by now, there's no need for Yuma to act like such a polite litigator.

"hey." The familiar voice calls as his fingertips brush against the small of Ryouga's back again. He sets the drink down in front of him and Ryouga recognises it as his own so he doesn't even bother to ask before taking a drink, wincing as the alcohol burns his throat the whole way down. "We can go home after that, if you want."

Yuma's head rests against Ryouga's shoulder and he sighs because as much as he would love to go home, he knows Yuma's not finished just yet. He's supposed to be entertaining Yuma like a good host but he's doing a really poor job and he knows it. "We don't have to. It's much nicer up here."

"We don't have to stay if you don't want to, you know that right?" Yuma presses. "I was just pushing at your buttons before." His hand continues to brush lightly as his back and it's just a subconscious movement now that is somewhat relaxing so Ryouga lets it be.

"No, I mean it. It's not so crowded out here. Not so many dumb drunks." Ryouga runs a hand over his forehead before offering to get another drink, only to be shot down. "I guess you being here makes it okay. Sort of."

Yuma grins and it's the closest thing Ryouga can get to saying that he's having a good time, so Ryouga's confused when Yuma suddenly slaps at his arm angrily.

"What?"

"Your roommate says you don't go out a lot." Yuma pouts, pulling himself onto the table in from of them and making himself comfortable.

"I do go out a lot." It's not a lie, he's always out, whether it's working or groceries or simply going to the library, he's rarely at home, though he's sure that it's not what Yuma means.

"That's not what I meant. How is your job going anyway?" Yuma pauses before shaking the loose thoughts from his head. "They say you're always alone."

Ryouga shrugs as Yuma picks up his hand and plays with it mindlessly. "You know what I'm like. I'm just not very social. I do talk to people though."

"But you're not lonely?" Yuma questions curiously watching as Ryouga shrugs for the second time.

"Not really. I still have you bugging me every day, as well as Rio and sometimes others like Thomas and Kaito."

"ooh, next time Kaito and I are in town were all going to party!" Yuma's a ball of excitement again at the prospect of going out with his two best friends, and Ryouga's glad that the topic's been taken from him onto a much lighter note. "But seriously Ryouga. More friends. Who else am I going to duel when I come here?"

Ryouga physically laughs because he's surprised at himself for not seeing that coming in the first place. It's enough for him to lazily reply "I'll try" until Yuma is satisfied and a small pair of lips gently caress his own.

"So, do you have any idea what you're going to do now that everything's over?" Ryouga asks. The curiosity's been getting the better of him lately and Yuma's never had a direct answer when asked, and this time is no different.

Yuma shrugs. "Don't know yet. We're hoping to get more funding to explore the other ruins that dad went and visited, and maybe more when we find something that peak's the museum's interest. Until then, duelling. Hopefully spend time with you too, I guess." His fingers play with the rim of Ryouga's shirt as he thinks his choices over.

"Just go with the flow, right?" Ryouga smirks as he looks over the balcony. "And it's not like you'll be considering higher education."

"Higher education would be wasted on me." Yuma pouts. "But I'm glad you decided to continue, y'know after everything that happened." He murmurs the words that make Ryouga tense and he tries to cover his tracks. "I mean, like it was really sucky and you shouldn't have had to go through all that and you were unaware of it all and.." he trails off into a babble that Ryouga needs to stop if there's ever any hope of him keeping his sanity.

"Yuma." He warns, giving a sigh as Yuma finally shuts his mouth.

Yuma frowns, looking at anywhere that isn't Ryouga's eyes. "sorry." He tries to apologize and Ryouga goes to shut him down with a don't bother but the words slip from Yuma's mouth so fast he's frozen into silence. "I'm glad you stayed." Yuma murmurs, continuing to refuse to look at Ryouga as he continues fiddling with his shirt. "I mean, you could have left like Alit or Shin-Shinget-Vector" he corrects himself, not bothering to wait for a reaction from Ryouga because he's sure he may have shocked him into silence but they're words he just needs to get out. "No one let me mourn the fact that I'd lost two really good friends. I knew it would be the same, but I don't think I could have handled it if I'd lost you too. I – it's selfish, but I'm so glad you stayed."

Ryouga has no idea what to say; it's his fault that Yuma feels this way because he was essentially the one who never gave him that time – he reasons thoroughly that it's because they had no such luxuries – but he's sure it still would have hurt. He knows so not only in way he still stutters Shingetsu's name, but the way Mihael would call him in a panic in the middle of the night asking why Yuma was screaming in his sleep and what he should do to calm him down. He grits his teeth know he's a contributor to that, but there really wasn't anything else he could do.

It's not surprising that Yuma's totally shocked when he feels a pair of arms pull himself from the table and into an embrace. He's not used to it, not used to feeling Ryouga pressed up against him, trailing his arms awkwardly up and down his spine in an attempt to reassure him. It's new, but definitely not unpleasant. Ryouga rests his chin on Yuma's shoulder, tsking to himself as Yuma slowly relaxes into his arms.

"Mihael told me about the nightmares." It's a bad time, but his balled fists pressing into Yuma's back would have given him away anyway so he doesn't really see any point trying to hide.

Yuma gives a nervous chuckle into Ryouga's collarbones. "Heh, sorry if I wake you."

"Not the issue." Ryouga reiterates, closing his eyes and leaning his weight onto Yuma. "You suffered a lot, it's no wonder. You'll know if you wake me though." Yuma chuckles at the thought of rude and tactless Ryouga – though he's considerably better than when they first met – turning into rude and tactless sleep deprived Ryouga.

Ryouga doesn't know what else to say. He feels like he should apologize – a part of him acknowledges that he _needs_ to apologize - but the words just get stuck in his throat and he's never found it so hard to simply say 'I'm sorry'. His arms wrap instinctively around Yuma tighter and by the way he feels Yuma reach up and stroke at his cheek, he's sure that his message has at least partially gone through.

"Can we go home now?" Yuma asks suddenly, catching Ryouga by surprise/ he raises an eyebrow, but he's not going to complain. " It's not that, don't worry. I just feel a bit icky. And tired. It's almost 3am."

Ryouga checks his watch and notices Yuma's right. He gives a curt nod and Yuma releases a small yawn as they make their way from the establishment and onto the road. Yuma shivers, causing Ryouga to roll his eyes, remembering specifically telling Yuma to bring a jacket and listening to him reject it point blank.

Well, damn if he thinks he's getting Ryouga's.

They're almost home when Ryouga feels his arm slide behind him. He turns to se Yuma almost crawling behind him, a long yawn escaping his mouth. Ryouga groans, pulling Yuma to him and gestures for him to climb onto his back. "Come on, we haven't got far to go."

Yuma gives a sleepy grin and kisses his partner on the cheek as he climbs onto his back. Ryouga sighs and continues on his way as Yuma mumbles his gratitude before changing to another topic that Ryouga cannot be bothered listening to.

"Can I watch you undress?" Yuma murmurs as Ryouga pulls out the swipe card to his building and letting them inside.

"You're quite the pervert when you're tired and drunk." Ryouga comments as they make their way to the elevator – as fit as Ryouga is, there's _no way_ he is carrying Yuma up the stairs. They eventually make it into Ryouga's apartment where he lets Yuma down and opens the room, glad that his roommate hadn't made it home just yet.

"My boyfriend has a good body, I just want to appreciate it." Yuma murmurs to himself with a laugh, kicking his shoes off and dropping straight into the bed. He undresses quickly, watching secretly as Ryouga pulls his shirt from his body and throws it towards the wash basket, followed immediately by his pants. Ryouga gestures for him to move over and he complies, giving a sneer as he wiggles to get more room.

"By the way you were talking before, I thought you were going to jump me when we got home." Ryouga murmurs into Yuma's ear as he cuddles closer to him.

He shrugs in reply. "I was intending too, but I'm too tired. There's always the morning." Yuma kisses Ryouga good night and relaxes into a sleep easily. Ryouga's not far behind, but all he can think of is how moronic he is, and he finally manages to mutter 'I'm sorry, Yuma.'

It's enough for now, and his eyes lull him gently to sleep.


	4. Can't Let Something Go

**This was primarily a rant fic that turned into me actually getting to write some IV into this AU which I won't ever say no to I won't lie. Also these are never going to be in order as they're all little one-shots that I plan on making whenever I feel like it [its often] but I'm planning on doing an indication of when abouts in the timeline that a specific fic will take place using, Pre-Exp as anything before Yuma leaves on his expedition, Exp as during Yuma's absence and Post-Exp as once he's returned. **

**Summary:**_ You'd think after six years people would learn to just let incidents go. At least Ryouga's got people who actually care about his troubles and a pretty annoying boyfriend that will go to pretty huge lengths to make sure he's okay. Exp. _

In hindsight, Ryouga can't even remember why it pissed him off so much in the first place. He only remembers it beginning with a much needed Skype call with Yuma, who is overly joyful despite telling him of _another_ near death experience he's forced both himself and Mihael through while on his expedition. He wants to tell him _be careful_, if not for himself than at least for Mihael, but he doesn't bother because he's not going to waste his breath on a notion that will just fall on deaf ears anyway.

Yuma manages to prod information out of Ryouga – _you got a job teaching kids to swim? And you're getting HD's in your classes?!_ He's probably the only non family member he has that actually cares about things like his income and his grades and _himself in general_, but he finds it kind of comforting in a way that makes his overly domestic life seem not quite as boring.

He's almost cracking a smile at Yuma's comments and he can only question how Mihael puts up with him when two males from his block enter the common room he's sitting in. He scowls and goes to plug his earphones into the computer to block out whatever lame gossip seemed to be rampaging around campus when he stops, one earphone half in his ear.

"Did you hear that Ryouga Kamishiro is enlisted in the university?" one questions, followed by a _who?_ From the other. "You know the one that got disqualified from Nationals a while back for cheating?"

Ryouga outwardly groans at the comment, removing his earphones from the computer and shoving them into his bag. "Give it a rest, it was six years ago!" he mutters as he slouches into the couch and folds his arms angrily.

"What's wrong, Shaaku?" Yuma questions as he tries to connect the dots as to what happened the year before they met.

Ryouga ignores Yuma in favour of listening in further because he can't help but be curious at the situation; how could they have not have seen him sitting in the very same room? He deliberates that it must be intentional, and he argues that if he was as outlandish or as upfront physically as he was when he was just a dumb, fucked up middle schooler he'd probably understand. But he's not now, he's considered very, very tame compared to then [he's sure it's because Yuma's been starting to rub off on him; his dumb ideals such as friendship and whatever have been sticking with him to the point where he caught himself whispering "_kattobingu_" to himself during a test a few weeks prior] so he's awfully confused as to the reasons why such an event was being brought up just after he thought people had finally begun to let it die.

"Wait, the name sounds familiar. I think he's in one of my classes?" the other male replies nonchalantly. "I hear he's super smart though, so I can see why. Class results were released the other day and apparently he got a HD in Bio." The guy sounds genuinely impressed and Yuma rolls his eyes because for the love of god please don't feed Ryouga's ego more, it's big enough as is.

The first guy leans closer to the first and tsks before letting out a comment that causes Yuma to growl so loudly Ryouga can hear it over the other two.

"Look man, as your friend I'm warning you to stay away from him. Who knows, he probably cheated to get those marks. You know what they say, once a cheater always a cheater."

"Shaaku..." Yuma whines, trying to get his partner's attention to distract him but deep down he knows there's no point, Ryouga's face is set in a scowl he hasn't seen since he was young and stupid and mentally fucked up. He murmurs a definitive 'goodbye, Yuma' to the screen and the pain that's evident in his voice almost breaks Yuma there and then. He barely has time to call "Goodbye Shaaku, I love you!" before the connection is abruptly cut off.

Yuma shuts the computer in frustration and just pushes it away because really, there's nothing else he can do. He wants nothing more to simply hold his boyfriend and tell him that they're stupid and its nothing to worry about – not that Ryouga is the type to worry about something such as what people are saying about him, so he's probably just left because he's sick to death of people bringing it up again and again.

That knowledge does absolutely nothing for Yuma, who places his head in his arms and just sits there as silently as he can possibly manage, only moving to change his seating so he legs didn't fall asleep. He wants to stand up for Ryouga [an overwhelming force wants to just punch the guy in the face and he realizes that Ryouga's habits are starting to rub off on him now as well], he just wants to be there for him and he thought he'd done it, thought he'd finally cracked Ryouga's walls – he's talking to people in the residences that aren't his roommate, smiling, making jokes – but he's just so far away that thinking he could actually maintain that was one of the dumbest thoughts he thinks he's ever had.

He feels so awful about not being able to support someone he cares about so much simply because of distance that he just sits there for half an hour, only occasionally moving his legs as he sits there and just dwells.

"Hey Yuma, are you alright?" Mihael calls after walking past the boy's still body for the umpteenth time.

Yuma nods his head in reply, turning and watching Mihael as he plonks himself into a seat nearby. "Kind of. Not really."

"Worried about Ryouga?" Mihael suggests and he nods because well, it's not really anything that's not completely obvious already.

"People have been bringing up the incident at Nationals, trying to use it as evidence that he can't possibly have gotten such good grades through legal means. It's probably not even affecting him at all; I'm just annoyed because there's nothing I can do at all to be of any reassurance." The words slip from his mouth and it's just something about Mihael's kind eyes and smile that just lets the words flow, and before long he's managed to rant about everything he hates about distance and how much it's really affecting him when he just wants it to be nothing at all, and to just kattobingu through the day.

Mihael gives a small "ahh" once he's finished, but it's no reassurance at all for Yuma. Mihael chooses instead to grip reassuringly at Yuma's shoulder as he tries to figure out what the right words to say. "Hey, you know it's only natural for you to worry about people you love, right? And yeah, there isn't really much you can do and it sucks, but you're still here for him when you can be, and that's really all either of you can expect from each other." Mihael pauses as an idea forms in his head. "Though, I have an idea, if you don't mind someone keeping your mind at ease?"

* * *

Ryouga groans loudly as he runs his hands over his face in annoyance, a loud buzzing noise reverberating through his room. He pulls himself to a sitting position and spies the time, knowing immediately that it was a message still buzzing through his phone and who it was from. He flicks the pass code into the phone, sighing as he saw the familiar name light up on the screen.

_You better be getting ready for class! _

"Get off my back, Yuma." He groans to himself, though he's kind of glad that he actually woke him up because it's been three days that he hasn't attended, he's just kind of lied there and not done much now that he thinks about it. What a pathetic waste of time.

He throws on his usual getup but throws on a larger jacket because the cold's starting to get to him and he's glad he did the second he walks out the complex's front door and is hit by the excessive wind that's infamous around here this time of the year. His phone starts vibrating obnoxiously as he's walking down the street and he opens his phone to find a message that almost makes him cringe.

_You know, letting me know if you're alive or not kind of helps. :( _

He feels bad but sue him for feeling in a shitty, non-talkative mood lately.

_You're starting to sound a lot like Rio. I'm alive._

To be sure, he sends an identical message of _I'm still alive_ to Rio and continues on his way, sliding his headphones on and ignoring anyone that was in his way. He wanders onto campus, realizing that thinking he was going to be late actually made him excessively early so he drops into a seat and takes out his textbook, hoping to squeeze in some last minute study before class.

He notices out off the corner of his eye someone slide into the seat across from him and he scowls because cant they see he's busy? He looks up preparing to tell them to piss off when the face that he connects with surprises him so much he slips out a nickname he hasn't used in years.

"IV?" he questions, shaking his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He realizes quickly that he's not and yes, that is Thomas Arclight sitting across from him; no matter how much time had passed and many different ways he'd styled his dumb two toned hair, Ryouga would be able to spot that scar etched on Thomas's face anywhere.

"I told you not to call me IV, its Thomas." They both reply in sync, though Ryouga's mocking tone overshadows Thomas's patronising one. "I'll let it slide this time." Thomas adds, flashing a quick grin. "So, fancy seeing you here? What's up?"

"Fancy seeing me at the university I study at." Ryouga replies mockingly. "Is this some sort of jab at the fact that I barely attend class? Because the people here are a piece of shit, just like in Heartland City."

"You'll find that they're like that everywhere, Ryouga." Thomas insists, leaning forward and placing his chin in his hands. Ryouga takes his word for it because sure he's done travelling with Yuma and crossed dimensions and all that crap, but Thomas is older and done a lot more conversing with people internationally, so he's probably a better source of info then most people.

"Which reminds me, what are you even doing here? Last time I checked, weren't you doing some fancy tour or something?"

Thomas shrugs, drooping his head a little. "Apparently spending a few weeks at a university helping to teach university students how to duel. 'It'll look really good in the press!' someone said at one point, so my manager latched on it and here we are."

Ryouga laughs at him, giving the least reassuring shrug he can manage. "Hey, that's your fault that you want to pander to your fans so much. Have any serious contenders?"

Thomas groans, placing one hand on his forehead. "You talk as if that's even a possibility. I literally have to struggle to _not_ one turn KO everyone who challenges me." Thomas looks up, an idea forming in his head. "I have to go back in ten minutes. You're free right? Come duel me, show these loser twerps how it's done."

Ryouga rolls his eyes. "Yeah I'm free. But do I really want to put myself in a situation where _more_ people can try and accuse me of cheating when I beat your ass? Hardly."

"More people?" Thomas frowns in confusion, ignoring the jab at his self esteem. "Are people still giving you shit for nationals? Come on, that was six years ago."

"That's what I said." Ryouga agrees, shutting his book in annoyance. "But you know what they say, once a cheater, always a cheater, right?"

"What a load of horseshit." Thomas argues with a roll of his eyes. "Explains a lot really."

"What does it explain?" Ryouga questions in curiosity.

"Explains why Mihael was all 'go see Ryouga and hang out with him' ra ra ra, you know what he's like." Thomas murmurs as he brushes his hair from his eyes. "He's just like your idiotic boyfriend, always worrying. I have to send him a message every day, whether it's something just really stupid like 'I'm alive' so he'll get off my back."

Ryouga chuckles. "At least I'm not the only one who has to suffer through it every day."

Thomas smirks, leaning back and stretching his arms wide. "Well, if you want someone to talk to about it, I guess I can lend an ear or something."

Ryouga groans ironically, trying to bite back a bitter laugh. "It seems almost weird to disclose my angers about people still going on about the incident that ruined my life with the person who was the reason my life was ruined, you know?"

"Hey hey, are we really going to play the blame game here? Because I'm pretty sure it was _your _Barian friends that started that shit anyway."

"They were never my friends." Ryouga growls angrily in warning.

"Comrades, whatever." Thomas dismisses the comments with a wave of his hand. "It's not the issue here. The issue is do you want an ear or not? I'm sure it'll be much more interesting than marine biology."

"I don't know..." Ryouga trails off, staring at the textbook in his hands. "The deep ocean is really fucked up. Pretty interesting to read up about."

"Okay then..." Thomas trails off, looking at his watch. "Well you've obviously got some pent up frustration, and I know the perfect place to get rid of it." He gestures to the d-pad still stuck to his arm. "Come on, what's more fun than crushing the dreams of novice duellists?"

Ryouga sighs, getting to his feet. "Fine, fine, I'll come with you."

Thomas grins as he gets to his feet and watches as Ryouga collects his belongings. "If anyone says anything I'll just tell them that I set your sister on fire and that makes us even."

"I don't like how nonchalantly you can say that." Ryouga comments as they make their way across the quad towards the gym where the lessons where being held.

"Hey, it's my deal with Rio, not yours, chill." Thomas dismisses Ryouga's raised eyebrow. "I've got to admit though, Rio's pretty attractive. What chance do you think I have?" he laughs at Ryouga's visible growl as they enter the stadium doors. "Relax, I was joking. Mostly."

Even if everything had changed about Ryouga, his overprotective instincts where one that hadn't. He sighs, knowing that this is Yuma's fault and he should actually thank him because yeah, it's not actually that bad seeing his old tag team partner again and he's got a friend who actually understands and can joke about it, so it's not quite so painful anymore.

He adds it to the ever growing list of things he has to pay Yuma back from when he gets back from his expedition.


	5. Gamer Tags

**This was an art trade I did with the lovely Julia, who drew a section of this part for me uwu/ I seem to have a huge thing with dumb college boys playing video games, whatever. Pre Exp. **

"I can't believe you!" Ryouga yells angrily, though only half the anger is directed at the teenager standing in front of him. He's mostly angry at himself; he leaves the room for five minutes, _five minutes_, to talk to his new roommate and get a feel of what he's like, only to return to the room with a snickering Yuma and a newly activated and named Xbox membership. "I can't believe you did this without asking!"

"I'm sorry Shark, but I just couldn't resist!" he laughs again, though it's considerably less hearty than before. "Come on, it's not even that bad, you're overreacting."

Ryouga grumbles as he picks up the controller and flicks through the screens until the profile appears. Maybe Yuma's right, he thinks to himself. I mean, what's the worst little old Yuma could do? His profile displays on the screen and all Yuma can hear before his self-control completely buckles and he bursts into a fit of laughter is the loud clank of the controller falling from Ryouga's hand and connecting with the ground.

Ryouga turns to face Yuma, his eye twitching furiously in its socket. "Yuma Tsukumo, I'm going to kill you." He yells, leaping at him and tackling him onto the nearest bed. He punches at Yuma wherever he can, Yuma's echoing laughter only adding more fuel to the fire of his anger.

"I." A punch connects with Yuma's left arm as he tries to roll out of the way. "Ugly." His hand collides with the mattress on either side of Yuma's face. "Crier. Ryouga." He murmurs the words as definitively as the gamer tag that he's now stuck with, and Yuma's got tears forming in his eyes from it all, which succeeds in only making Ryouga angrier.

"Well I was going to write Sharksheartwillgoon but I ran out of characters!" Yuma manages to spurt out through his laughter. Ryouga catches on immediately, and if he thinks he was furious before, it's nothing to what he's feeling right at this moment.

"I told you that in confidence!" Ryouga growls, biting his lip as he straddles the male, pinning his arms above his head, fully restricting Yuma's movement. Their eyes connect and an idea forms in Ryouga's brain, leading to a smirk so large that Yuma begins struggling to get free.

"I'm sorry Shark!" Yuma cries out as Ryouga kisses him, quickly moving to his neck. He bites and sucks at various places where he knows Yuma is sensitive, grinning as Yuma giggles and squirms but refusing to stop until he's sure they've bruised before moving to the next. "Shark please! I still have school and I can't hide these!"

"Good." Ryouga murmurs before moving his lips to Yuma's collarbone. "At least your mockery will only be temporary."

"Shark, Shark I said I was – ngh~!" Yuma's moan interrupts whatever he was planning to say. His struggling stops much to Ryouga's displeasure. Ryouga growls, biting at Yuma's collarbones until he cries out, a tear forming in his eye. "Stupid, sexy Shark!"

"You know it." He smirks, finally releasing his partner's hands but continuing to straddle him. He begins tracing the tender marks already forming across his neck and chest, giving a satisfied smirk whenever Yuma winces. He can only imagine the comments he's going to get when he gets home and his sister sees him, and then Mihael...

"Yeah, sure it's going to be embarrassing when I see sis and stuff for the next few days." Yuma tries to sound more confident than he feels, but it shows through. "But just think, everyone in Heartland City knows we're dating, so everyone's going to know that I managed to get the infamous Ryouga Kamishiro under my grasp. Not to mention every time I log into Xbox live and see UglyCrierShark on my friends list. Totally worth it."

Ryouga growls and he considers giving Yuma another hickey for the collection, before his mind wanders to how well Yuma would be able to climb with a broken arm. He's musing to himself when the images of the movie fill his mind – _Rose! Rose!_ – the voice fills his brain and he sniffs, turning his head so Yuma can't see because for the love of god the last thing he needs is more fuel for Yuma to mock him with.

He's not sure why but its overcoming him now of all times and in an effort to hide his watering eyes – _what the hell is wrong with you?_ He mocks himself as he drops into Yuma's arms, using his jacket to hide and brush away at any stray tears that may have appeared.

Yuma's hand starts to run aimlessly through Ryouga's hair, wincing every time his fingers got stuck in the mess of purple locks that made up his partner's hair. Ryouga's furious again and he growls as he hears quiet murmurs of 'it's just a movie' and 'it's going to be okay.' Ryouga sniffs to clear his eyes and throat and retorts "I'm not crying, you idiot!" though it's completely unconvincing and he's just disgracing himself further.

Yuma chuckles in reply, wiping at Ryouga's cheek with his thumb, because as hilarious as it is to pick on Shark, he know when to stop because it's actually really nice to see Ryouga with his walls down and actually showing some form of emotion that wasn't boredom or anger. "Whatever you say, Ryouga." Yuma drops his boyfriend's real name in an effort to show he's not mocking anymore, he's being serious, it's okay and he only ever uses it in that situation because it always catches Ryouga by surprise because he swears that Yuma's got to be the only person that he knows that still calls him by his dumb middle school nickname.

Ryouga sniffs again and snuggles into Yuma's chest further. He frowns at the thought but remembers that he's really got no reputation around Yuma anyway, and he's got to drive Yuma back to Heartland City tomorrow so Yuma can sign out of school and go home so Ryouga's not too sure when he'll actually see him again. He decides what the heck, and lets his guard down completely, if not for the one night.

"Thanks, Yuma." Ryouga murmurs and he tries to stress the words to imply _this isn't about the gamer tag anymore, this is about everything else you've done for me_ because he's not stupid, he can forget the gamer tag for the time being because at the moment its only Yuma and on rare occasions Kaito that even play with him on the thing anyway. Sure he knows he'll cop some choice words from Kaito, but he can grit and bear with it.

"Did I hear that right?" Yuma murmurs, back to his mocking tone. "Are you finally going to appreciate my great naming skills?"

Ryouga grits his teeth quietly. "Do you want another hickey?" he warns, watching with a quiet glee as Yuma instinctively flinches. Ryouga's tense for only a few more minutes before relaxing again, closing his eyes as Yuma begins to run his hands through Ryouga's hair again.

He stops suddenly upon hearing a soft snoring noise fill the room, and _what do you know_ Ryouga's fallen asleep, completely content with lying on his partner's chest. Yuma smiles affectionately, brushing Ryouga's messy blue hair from his eyes and kissing his forehead gently.

"I'll miss you, Ryouga." He admits in less than a whisper because he's a light sleeper and no matter how sweet or happy the words would make him, Ryouga's very irritable when awoken suddenly and it's not really something Yuma wants to deal with, but he just needs to get the words off his chest. "I love you." Yuma blushes at the thought of Ryouga pouting as he hears the words, but he shuffles to be more comfortable himself, grabbing his ds from the side table, knowing that he won't be going anywhere any time soon.


	6. Plush Toys

_heh, blame Julia for this._

_#sharkbait30day_

_Warnings uh cursing and extremely cheesy dumb boyfriends that's it also cheesy goodbyes I suck_

* * *

Ryouga's not sure how he feels. Yuma's sitting in his lap, his lower lip hanging so low that Ryouga was sure he would somehow manage to trip over it. He does his best to ignore the male whining in his lap, and as much as he wants to shut him up by paying attention to him, he has to finish his readings because the last thing he really wants is to get behind on his readings in his first week. He's almost finished and he mentally promises himself that he'll do _something_ to make Yuma's time here not so boring.

Yuma whines again, leaning over Ryouga's shoulder and grabbing at the small plush toy just within his reach. He grins; bringing the small plush toy in front of his eyes and pushes it from side to side in a swimming motion, giggling softly to himself. Ryouga looks up at the source of the noise, smiling softly as Yuma continued to giggle in his lap.

Yuma looks up, eyeing Ryouga and the shark plush. He grins, bringing the toy to Ryouga's nose and bops him gently, continuing to laugh quietly to himself as Ryouga scrunches his face up in surprise. Ryouga sighs, giving up on his readings and letting the book fall to the bed in his silent form of giving up.

Yuma notices immediately, giving an excited grin and throwing his arms around Ryouga's neck, pecking him on the cheek with the plush shark still clutched tightly in his hands. "Yuma." Ryouga murmurs, raising an eyebrow at his sudden playfulness.

"Can I take this with me?" Yuma questions excitedly, bringing back his signature pout in a last ditch attempt to woo Ryouga over to his side. It's pointless, and Ryouga's scowl and raised eyebrow is more of an answer than if Ryouga had yelled _no_ himself. "Why not?" Yuma persists. "It's not as if it's doing anything here, and you know I'll take good care of it!"

"I've seen your 'taking good care of things', you can't fool me."

"Oh come on." Yuma whines needily. "Kotori's boyfriend lets her take one of his shirts when she's going away for long periods of time."

"Cool, take one of my shirts then!" Ryouga insists, holding his arms out in confusion. "I have no problem with that! Why do you need the stupid plush shark that Rio won for me when we were kids?"

"Aha!" Yuma calls, pointing at him. "But you just called it stupid!"

Ryouga opens his mouth to respond, only to stop and sigh, holding the bridge of his nose with his hand. "Yuma, that's not the point." He holds his hand out, and Yuma places the shark in his hand begrudgingly. "Rio won it for me when I was a really young kid, it means a lot to me, as stupid as it is."

Yuma frowns for only a second before throwing himself into Ryouga, tackling him into the mattress. "It's so cute when you show your emotions." Ryouga rolls his eyes as Yuma taps his nose happily.

"I won't budge on this, I hope you know that." Ryouga mutters as Yuma kisses his check softly, taking the plush back and waving it above the two of them.

"Well I'll just have to convince you then."

* * *

"Are you going to give me a proper goodbye?" Yuma pouts, pouting and crossing his arms angrily. "I think you might be misinterpreting just how long a year is."

Ryouga rolls his eyes, dropping Yuma's duffel bag to the floor, gripping Yuma's forearms in his hands and kissing him softly. "there, happy?" he grumbles to himself, frowning as Yuma throws himself into Ryouga's arms, kissing his cheeks as he does his best to imprint the memory of his best friend while he still can. He takes Ryouga's arms, still limp at his sides, and wraps them around his waist, closing his eyes and propping his forehead against his partner's.

Yuma waits a few seconds before stepping away, grabbing his bag from the ground and slinging it over his shoulders. "Are you going to call me often?" Ryouga shrugs, forcing Yuma to frown. "At least once a week?"

"I guess."

Yuma rolls his eyes. "I guess its goodbye for now, then. I'm going to miss you, Shark." His eyes dart to the ground sadly, peeking through his lashes for a second before turning away. He takes a step towards the check in area, only to have a warm hand snake around his wrist and spin him back the way he came. Two hands snake to his hips to keep him in check as Ryouga's lips caress his own, quick hurried pecks that cause Yuma's eyes to slide half shut and a goofy grin cross his face.

"I won't miss you." Ryouga hisses, tilting Yuma's chin under his fingertips to look him in the eye. "Don't die, asshole."

"Heh, love you too Shaaku." Yuma laughs, kissing him a final time before making his way to the baggage area, blowing the male a kiss before making his way to the register. Ryouga crosses his arms and leans against the wall, waiting patiently with watchful eyes until he's sure Yuma's passed through security and is completely out of earshot before letting the words fall from his lips.

"Love you too, Yuma."

A small noise resonates through his pocket, and he slips the phone from its encasings immediately, raising an eyebrow at the message flashing on the screen. "We will miss you?" Ryouga repeats in confusion, opening up the attachment that accompanied the message. His eyes scan along the selfie, his eye twitching as his eyes spot the small plush shark pressed happily against his cheek.

"_Motherfucker."_ Ryouga scowls. "How the hell did he get his hands on that?"

It was going to be a long year.


End file.
